Neighborhood crime, the housing crisis, and geographic space: Disentangling the consequences of foreclosure and vacancy

Abstract

In the wake of the U.S. housing crisis, a flurry of research has examined the consequences of foreclosure for crime, and much of the literature suggests that foreclosure impacts crime through vacancy. We suggest that foreclosure and vacancy have distinct crime processes and their effects should be examined in tandem. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of foreclosure and vacancy, particularly in surrounding neighborhoods, may have different consequences for crime. We examine these questions using quarterly neighborhood data from Cleveland, Ohio, from 2006 to 2011 for both property and violent crimes. We find that foreclosures only impact crime through the broader nearby area, whereas vacancies appear to only be of consequence within the focal neighborhood. Our findings suggest distinct and spatialized differences between foreclosures and vacancies in their consequences for crime.